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AN OUTLINE 

OF THE 

History of Dayton 

OHIO 
1796-1896 



Prepared from " Early Dayton, by Robert W. Steele and 

Mary Davies Steele," and from the 

"History of Dayton " 



Published for the Board of Education 




Vm of cOj^"^^^ 

-■"V 2 1896 ■ 



DAYTON, OHIO 

Untteb Brettjren piiblist^ing f^onse 

W. J. Shuey, Publisher 



INTRODUCTION 



If Dayton's centennial is properly to be observed, the schools — 
including the three hundred teachers and the more than ten 
thousand boys and girls— must fill an important place and take 
a leading part. The children of to-day should become acquainted 
with the past, and duly recognize the planning and struggles that 
have made present advantages possible. Besides, every one who is 
to become a useful citizen must be led to cherish a local pride and 
public si)irit such as a worthy celebration of the founding and 
growth of the city will surely tend to promote. 

The Board of Education have therefore provided that necessary 
books be supplied to the various schools and that a souvenir book- 
let containing an outline history of the city be put into the hands 
of each teacher and jjupil. Class exercises, covering the history of 
Dayton and extending through a number of weeks, will be con- 
ducted by the teachers, the course to be followed with a suitable 
celebration in all of the schools. 

Through the kindness of Miss Mtwy D. Steele, author of the 
volume entitled "Early Dayton," and of Mr. W. J. Shuey, the 
publisher of the same, the following summary of history and 
excellent illustrations, chiefly taken from said volume, are made 
available. 

The Board desire to congratulate the teachers and pupils and 
the general public on the prosperity of the past, and to express the 
hope that higher successes will crown the years to come. 
For the Board, 

Charles J. Hall, 
A. H. Iddings, 
H. C. Thomson, 
Committee on Centennial Celebration. 



Copyright, 1896, by W. J. Shuey. 

All rights reserved. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF DAYTON 



The original inhabitants ol the region of which the Miami 
Valley forms a part were the Mound -Builders. Nothing is 
known of their origin, and they have left no trace of their his- 
tory except the many relics found in the numerous mounds 
which they built, and which still exist in various places. The 
Mound-Builders were followed by the Indians, who were in 
possession of the country when it was explored by white men, 
and continued to occupy portions of it after settlements had been 
made by the whites. The principal tribes inhabiting this por- 
tion of Ohio were the Miamis and the Shawnees. 

When the forests of the Ohio Valley were first penetrated by 
Europeans, the region was claimed by Spain, France, and Eng- 
land. England afterward gained possession of it, but in 1783, at 
the close of the War of the Revolution, yielded it to the United 
States. The title to the land northwest of the Ohio River was 
also claimed by Virginia, but in 1784 was ceded to the United 
States. In 1787 the Northwest Territory was formed by Con- 
gress, including the present States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 
Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. 

The land lying between the Great Miami and Little Miami 
rivers was not inhabited by the Indians, but was reserved as a 
hunting-ground, and it is probable that there was no Indian 
village in all this region after the year 1700. 

Long before any permanent settlement was made in the Miami 
Valley, its beauty and fertility were known by the inhabitants of 
Kentucky and the people beyond the Alleghanies, and repeated 
efforts were made to get possession of it. These efforts led to 
conflicts with the Indians, and until the close of the eighteenth 
century the valley was known as the "Miami slaughter-house." 

As early as 1749 the French Major Celoron de Bienville as- 
cended the La Roche or Big Miami River as far as Piqua. In 
1 75 1 Gist, the agent of the Virginians who formed the Ohio Land 



4 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF DAYTON 

Companj', visited the same region, and wrote a description of 
it in English. The countrj^ he sa3S, abounded with "turkeys, 

deer, elk, and most sorts of game, particularly^ buffaloes 

It wants nothing but cultivation to make it a most delightful 
countr}-. The land upon the Great Miami River is verj^ rich, 
level, and well timbered, some of the finest meadows that can 
be. The grass here grows to a great height on the clear fields, 
of which there are a great number, and the bottoms are full of 
white clover, wild rye, and blue grass." Buffaloes and elk were 
found here until 1795. 

In the summer of 1780 General George Rogers Clark led an 
expedition against the Shawnees near Xenia and Springfield. 
He defeated the Indians and destro3'ed their property. Among 
the ofiicers under Clark was Colonel Robert Patterson, from 1804 
to 1827 a citizen of Dayton. 

In 1782 Clark led a second expedition of one thousand Ken- 
tuckians to Ohio. They met the Indians at the mouth of Mad 
River, and on the 9th of November a skirmish occurred on the 
site of Da}' ton, in which the Kentuckians were victorious. 
These two expeditions were campaigns of the Revolution, as 
the Indians were friendly to the British. 

In 1786 a force under Colonel Logan was sent against the 
Wabash and Mad River villages of the Indians. One of the 
brigades was commanded b}' Colonel Robert Patterson. On 
their retvirn, the}- met a part\' of Indians at the mouth of Mad 
River, and gained the second battle between whites and Indians 
on the site of Dayton. 

In 1789 Major Benjamin Stites, John Stites Gano, and William 
Goforth formed plans for a settlement to he named Venice, at the 
mouth of the Tiber, as they called INIad River, but their plans 
failed. 

In 1794 General Anthony Waj'ne defeated the Indians and 
ended four years of Indian war. August 3, 1795, the General 
concluded a treaty with the Indians, at Greenville, Ohio, which 
was regarded as securing the safet}' of settlers in the Indian 
countr}'. 

August 20, 1795, seventeen daj'S after the treaty was signed, a 
party of gentlemen contracted for the purchase of the seventh 
and eighth ranges between Mad River and the Little Miami from 
John Cleves Symmes, a soldier of the Revolutionar}' army, who, 
encouraged by the success of the Ohio Company, had, after 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF DAYTON 5 

much negotiation, obtained from Congress a grant for the pur- 
chase of one million acres between the two Miamis. The 
purchasers of the seventh and eighth ranges were General 
Arthur St. Clair, Governor of the Northwest Territory; Gen- 
eral Jonathan Dayton, afterward Senator from New Jersey ; 
General James Wilkinson, of Wayne's army, and Colonel Israel 
Liidlow, from Long Hill, Morris County, New Jersey. On the 
2ist of September two parties of surveyors set out, one led by 
Daniel C. Cooper to surve)' and mark a road and cut out some 
of the brush, and the other led by Captain John Dunlap, which 
was to run the boundaries of the purchase. On the ist of 
November the surve3'ors returned to Mad River, and Israel 
Ludlow laid out the town, which he named for General Da3ton, 
Three streets were named St. Clair, W^ilkinson, and Ludlow for 
the proprietors. Another was called, as a sort of compromise, 
Jefferson, as the proprietors were Federalists. Daj'ton was 
founded by Revolutionary officers and bears their names. It is 
also linked to the War of 1S12 b3^ a street called for Commodore 
Perr}'. 

On November i a lottery was held, and each one present drew 
lots for himself or others who intended to settle in the new 
town. Each of the settlers received a donation of an inlot and 
an outlot. In addition, each of them had the privilege of pur- 
chasing one hundred and sixty acres at a French crown, or about 
one dollar and thirteen cents, per acre. The proprietors hoped 
by offering these inducements to attract settlers to the place. 

Forty-six men had agreed to remove from Cincinnati to Day- 
ton, but only nineteen came. The following men and about 
seventeen women and children were the original settlers of 
Da^'ton : William Hamer, Solomon Hanier, Thomas Hamer, 
George Newcom, William Newcom, Abraham Glassmire, Thomas 
Davis, John Davis, John Dorough, William Chenoweth, James 
Morris, Daniel Ferrell, Samuel Thompson, Benjamin Van Cleve, 
James McClure, John jNIcClure, William Gahagan, vSolomon 
Goss, William Van Cleve. 

In March, 1796, the}^ left Cincinnati in three parties, led by 
William Hamer, George Newcom, and Samuel Thompson. Two 
parties came b\' land and one by water. 

The party coming by water made the voj'age down the Ohio 
and up the IMiami River in a boat called a pirogue. In the 
pirogue came Samuel Thompson and his wife, Catherine ; their 



O HISTORICAI. SKETCH OF DAYTON 

children, Sarah, two years old, Martha, three months old, and 
Mrs. Thompson's son, Benjamin Van Cleve, then about twenty- 
five, and her daughter, Mary Van Cleve, nine years of age ; the 
widow McClure and her sons and daughters, James, John, 
Thomas, Kate, and Ann, and William Gaha^an, a young Irish- 
man. The passage from Cincinnati to Da;, ^on occupied ten days. 
Mrs. Thompson was the first to step ashore. Two small camps 
of Indians were here when the pirogue touclied the Miami bank, 
but they proved friendly and were persuaded to leave in a day or 
two. The pirogue landed at the head of St. Clair Street April i, 
1796. The Thompson party was the first to arrive. The other 
two parties arrived a few days later. 

As soon as possible after the arrival of the pioneers, the whole 
of Water vStreet, now Monument Avenue, was cleared of brush 
and trees. The country around for many- miles, with bixt few 
exceptions, was covered with unbroken forest, or a thicket of 
hazel bushes and wild fruit-trees. 

Colonel George Newcom, one of the first settlers, built a log 
cabin, immediatel}' after his arrival, on the southwest corner of 
Main Street and Water Street, now Monument Avenue. Other 
cabins also were built, all of them being one story' high and con- 
taining only one room. In the winter of 1798-99 Colonel Newcom 
built Newcom 's Tavern on the site of the first cabin. The new 
cabin was two stories high and contained four rooms. 

For several years the settlers were much annoyed by the 
Indians, and in 1799 a blockhoUvSe was built on the site of the 
Soldiers' Monument. 

In 1798 Rev. John Kobler, of the Methodist Episcopp.. Church, 
preached the first sermon in Dayton, and a class of eight persons 
was formed, which has grown into the present Grace Methodist 
Church. 

In 1799 the First Presbyterian Church was organized, and in 
1800 built the first meeting-house, on the northeast corner of 
Main and Third streets. It was constructed of logs, and was 
eighteen by twenty feet in size. From these small beginnings 
the number of churches has grown until there are now in the 
city eighty -one churches of all denominations. 

In 1800 the first wedding in the little town occurred — that of 
Benjamin Van Cleve and Mary Whitten. April 14. of the same year 
was born the first child — Jane Newcom. During the same j^ear the 
first store was opened in the second story of Newcom's Tavern. 




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HISTORICAL SKETCH OF DAYTON 9 

The nine cabins which in 1799 constituted Daj'ton, contained 
only a few home-made benches, stools, beds, tables, and cup- 
boards, often of buckeye and beechwood. Doddridge in his 
"Notes" sa3-s that a pioneer's table furniture consisted of 
"some old pewter dishes and plates; the rest, wooden bowls 
or trenchers, or gourds, and hard-shelled squashes. A few 
pewter spoons, much battered about the edges, were to be 
seen on some tables. The rest were made of horn. If knives 
were scarce, the deficiency was made up bj- the scalping-knives, 
which were carried in sheaths suspended from the belt of the 
hunting-shirt." The cabin was warmed and lighted wholl}- by 
the huge open hickory fire, over which, in pots suspended from 
cranes or on the coals or in the ashes, the cooking was done. At 
an earl}' date the pioneers raised flax, hemp, and wool, and the 
women spun, wove, and dyed, with colors made from walnut 
and butternut hulls, or wild roots, the fabrics from which they 
made the clothes of the family. Ever}' cabin had its spinning- 
wheel and loom, the latter built b})- the ingenious pioneer weaver, 
Abraham Glassmire. One wonders whether pioneer women 
were reallj' harder worked than their granddaughters. The}' 
had little to occupy or amuse them outside their own homes — 
no benevolent societies, clubs, receptions, calls, concerts, or 
lectures, and only occasional church services. The}' had only 
one or two rooms to keep in order, and no pictures, books, cur- 
tains, carpets, rugs, table- and bed-linen, bric-a-brac, china, gla.ss, 
or silver to take care of. Their wardrobes were scant}-, and the 
weekly washing must have been small. Wheat flour could not 
be obtained ; corn hoe-cake, ash-cake, johnny-cake, dodgers, 
pone, hominy, and mush and milk were the principal articles 
of diet. Meal was slowly and laboriously ground in handmills. 
Wild plums, crab-apples, blackberries, and strawberries, sweet- 
ened with maple sugar, furnished jellies and preserves. There 
was an abundance of wild honey, and of wild goose and turkey 
.md duck eggs. They often tired of venison, bears' meat, rabbits, 
squirrels, wild turkeys, ducks, geese, quail, and pheasants, and 
longed for pork. There was great rejoicing, no doubt, when, 
in 1799, Mr. Cooper introduced hogs. 

In the earlier years of our history settlers' families were often 
dependent upon the father's gun for a breakfast or dinner, and 
hunting was oftener an occupation than an amusement. Deer 
and bears were killed in large numbers for both their pelts and 



lO HISTORICAL SKETCH OF DAYTON 

flesh, and the bears also for their oil. Deerskin was made into 
men's clothes and moccasins, and bearskins were used as rugs 
and coverlets. The meat, and also that of wild birds, was salted 
and eaten as we eat dried beef. Raccoon skins were in demand 
for winter caps. Pelts of various kinds were used instead of 
money. 

There was little money in circulation, and business in the 
Northwest Territory was chieflj' conducted by barter of articles 
that were easily transported on packhorses, such as ginseng, 
peltries, and beeswax, which had fixed values. A muskrat skin 
passed for twenty-five cents ; a buckskin for one dollar ; a doe- 
skin for one dollar and fifty cents ; a bearskin for from three to 
five dollars ; a pair of cotton stockings cost a buckskin ; a yard of 
calico cost two muskrat skins ; a set of knives and forks, a bear- 
skin ; a yard of shirting, a doeskin ; a pair of moccasins, a coon- 
skin, or thirty-seven and a half cents. The want of small change 
led the pioneers of the Ohio Valley to invent what was called cut- 
money, or sharp shins. They cut small coins, chiefl}- Spanish, 
into quarters, and circulated them as readily as money that had 
not been tampered with. American merchants had not yet 
learned to use the United States currencj', and their charges were 
in pounds, shillings, and pence. 

The habits and surroundings of the people were very primi- 
tive. Wildcats and panthers strong enough to carry off a live 
hog prowled in the surrounding woods, and wolves, which 
destroyed stock, poultr}'-, and young vegetables, were shot by 
moonlight through the chinks of the cabins. The wolves 
howled from dusk till dawn like innumerable dogs, as any one 
who has visited prairie countries can understand. 

The settlement did not grow rapidl}'. As stated above, in 1799 
only nine cabins constituted the town of Dayton, and in 1802, when 
Ohio was admitted into the Union, only five families remained. In 
1801 Daniel C. Cooper, who had settled in Dayton in 1796, became 
titular proprietor of the town, and secured satisfactory titles by 
patent and deed. He made several plats of Dayton, and was 
very liberal in his treatment of settlers. To him we owe Cooper 
Park and other advantages which we now enjoy. 

In 1803 Mr. Cooper resuscitated the t.^wn, Montgomery County 
was separated from Hamilton County, and Dayton was made the 
county-seat. 

The first county court was held on the 27th of July, 1803, in 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF DAYTON II 

an upper room in Nevvcom's Tavern, Hon. Francis Dunlevy 
being the presiding judge. Colonel George Newcom was sheriff. 
There was no business to transact, and the court adjourned on 
the same day. Afterward, when there were prisoners to be cared 
for, white prisoners were confined in a dry well on the Colonel's 
lot, and Indian prisoners were bound and placed in his corn-crib. 

In 1806 the first Court-house was built, of brick, on the present 
Court-house lot. In 1817 a new Court-house on the same site 
was finished. The present old Court-house was completed in 
1850, and the present new Court-house in 1884. 

In 1804 a log jail was built on the Court-house lot. A rubble- 
stone jail was completed in 1813, in the rear of which a cut-stone 
building was erected in 1834 or 1835, which was used until 1845, 
when the present work-house was built and used as a jail. This 
was followed by the present jail building, completed in 1874. 

In 1804 a postoflice was established, with Benjamin Van Cleve 
as first postmaster. For many 5'ears the mails were carried on 
horseback, and later by stage-coach. At first mail was trans- 
ported only once in two weeks, between Cincinnati and Detroit, 
via Dayton. The postage was from twenty to twenty-five cents. 

In 1805 the town of Dayton was incorporated. Up to this time 
the government had been conducted bj^ the county commissioners, 
township assessors, and justices of the peace. In this year the 
first town election was held, and seven trustees were elected, one 
cf whom served as president. In 1829 John Folkerth was elected 
the first Mayor. In 1841 Dayton was incorporated as a cit\% and 
the City Council took the place of the Town Trustees. 

In 1S04 Henry Brown built on ]\Iain Street, near the High 
School, a frame building for a store — the first house erected here 
specially for business purposes. In 1808 Mr. Brown built the 
first brick residence in the town, on the west side of ]\Iain Street, 
on the alley between Second and Third streets. 

The town at first occupied only a small area near the river, 
between Main and St. Clair streets. It was many years before 
the business center moved as far south as at present. The orig- 
inal plat of the cit}' included only the land as far south as Sixth 
Street, as far west as to a block west of Perry, and as far east as a 
little be3'ond the present line of the canal. 

Communication between the early settlements was ver}^ diffi- 
cult. The roads were narrow, muddy, and full of holes, and the 
best mode of travel was on horseback. For manv vears there 



12 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF DAYTOX 

were no bridges across the streams, and it was necessary to ford 
or use ferries. The first bridge in Dayton was built across Mad 
River in 1817. In 1819 Bridge Street bridge was completed and 
in 1836 Main Street bridge was opened for travel. In 1838 the 
Third Street Bridge Company was formed. In 181S a stage-coach 
line began to run between Dayton and Cincinnati. In 1825 a 
stage line was established between Columbus, Dayton, and Cin- 
cinnati. Between 1836 and 1840 several turnpikes were built, 
leading to Cincinnati, Springfield, Lebanon, Covington, and other 
towns. 

In 1810 the Town Council passed an ordinance for the improve- 
ment of the sidewalks on the principal streets. They were to be 
laid with stone or brick, or graveled, and a ditch was to be dug 
on the outeredge of the walks. In 1836 the Council ordered the 
streets and walks through the town to be graded. The abundance 
of gravel in the vicinity of the cit}' has been of great advantage 
in the improvement of the streets and walks. 

Within the last few years a -complete sewer system has been 
projected and largely finished, the principal .streets of the city 
have been handsomely paved with asphalt, brick, sandstone, 
and granite, and many of the residence streets have been parked 
by narrowing the roadway and making lawns along the borders 
of tlie sidewalks. These improvements, together with the large 
number of shade-trees which abound in the city, make the 
streets very attractive. 

In 1838 Cooper Park, donated by D. C. Cooper, was prepared 
for the use of the public. 

At the time of the settlement of Dayton and for many years 
after, the Miami River was regarded as a navigable stream, and 
flatboats and keel -boats were -used to carry merchandise between 
Dayton and Cincinnati, and Dayton and New Orleans. A ware- 
house stood for some years at the head of Wilkinson Street, but 
was floated away in the freshet of 1828. 'Navigation, however, 
was often obstructed, and in 1825 the Legislature authorized the 
construction of a canal between Dayton and Cincinnati. This 
was completed in 1828, and in January, 1829, the first canal-boat 
arrived from Cincinnati. In 1841 the canal was extended north- 
ward, and forms the present Miami and Erie Canal. 

The first railroad which entered the city was the road from Day- 
ton to Springfield, which was finished in 1851. In the same year 
the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad was completed. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF DAYTON 15 

Other roads followed, until the city now has eleven railroads, 
which form parts of four great railway S5'stems. 

The first street-railroad was chartered in 1869, as the "Dayton 
Street-Railroad," though generally known as the "Third Street 
Railroad." Others followed rapidly until in 1896 there are few 
parts of the city not reached by street-cars. Electricity has taken 
the place of horse-power on all but one road. 

The blockhouse built in 1799 was never needed for defense 
against the Indians, but was used as a church and school-house. 
In this rude building, on the ist of September, 1799, Benjamin 
Van Cleve opened a private school, the first school in Dayton, but- 
taught for only a few months. ]\Ir. Van Cleve was an enter- 
prising citizen, and to him we owe most of our knowledge of 
the settlement and early histor}- of the cit}-. 

For many years the town was dependent entirely upon private 
schools for the instruction of the children. Among these schools 
was the Dayton Academy, incorporated in 1807 and continuing 
until 1850. Cooper Female Seminary was opened in 1845, in 
charge of E. E. Barney, and at once became known throughout 
Ohio as an attractive and scholarly institution. Mr. Barney was 
also principal of the Dayton Academy from 1834 till 1839, ^"^ in 
1S49 became one of the founders of the Dayton Car Works. 

The first Dayton public school was opened Decembers, 1831, by 
S3'lvanus Hall, in a school-room on Jefferson Street, between 
Water and First streets. Public money was appropriated to sup- 
port it, but the amount not being sufficient, each pupil paid a 
dollar per quarter for tuition. Three additional rooms were soon 
afterwards opened in different parts of the town. Before 183 1 
schools had been partly supported hj taxation, but in this year 
the school district of Dayton was formally organized. In 1838 
the first public-school buildings were erected on the sites now 
occupied by the old Second District and the Fourth District 
buildings. In 1850 the Central High School was opened in the 
present First District building, but was removed in the fall of 
that year to the old Academy building, located where the Central 
District building now stands. The present Steele High School 
building was occupied in the fall of 1893. The Normal School 
was opened in 1869, and the Manual-Training School January 2, 
1896. There are now nineteen district schools, with twentj^-nine 
buildings. The growth of the schools is shown by the follow- 
ing table : 



l6 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF DAYTON 





IS!.:. 


1S57. 


1367. 


1875. 


ISSO. 1S90. 


1S95. 


Pupils enrolled..., 


827 


3,440 


4,213 


5,238 


6,144 8,465 


10,982 


Av. dally attend.. 


544 


1,600 


2,809 


3,611 


4,527 6,565 


9,437 


No. of teachers..., 


16 


45 


70 


98 


125 202 


310 


School fund 


. S2,483 


$40,000 


$60,000 


$139,066 


$189,261 $219,124 


$314,878 


School property.. 


. $6,000 


$75,000 


$143,000 


$210,000 


$321,706 i$600,000 i$l,323,525 



The interests of the public schools were under the control of a 
Board of Directors until 1842, and of a Board of Managers under 
direction of the City Council from 1842 to 1855. Since the latter 
date the schools have been in charge of a Board of Education. 

Ofiicers of the schools may be named as follows : 

Presidents of the Board of Education : 1842, E. W. Davies ; 
1843, W. J. McKinney; 1844, E. W. Davies; 1845, Thomas 
Brown ; 1846, Henry Stoddard, Sen. ; 1847, R. W. Steele ; 1848- 
49, H. ly. Brown ; 1850-61, R. W. Steele; 1861-63, H. L. Brown; 
1863-64, Thomas F. Thresher ; 1864-69, H. L. Brown ; 1869-73, 
E. Morgan Wood; 1873-75, Charles Wuichet ; 1875-78, E. M. 
Thresher; 1878-79, C. L. Bauman ; 1879-80, J. K. Webster; 1880- 
82, E. M. Thresher; 1882-83, S. W. Davies; 1883-87, R. M. 
Allen; 1887-90, C. H. Kumler ; 1890-92, John E. Byrne; 1892-93, 
A. W. Gump ; 1893-95, A. H. Iddings ; 1895-96, A. W. Drury. 

Superintendents of Instruction : 1855-59, James Campbell ; 
1866-68, Caleb Parker; 1873-74, Samuel C. Wilson; 1874-84, 
John Hancock ; 1884-88, James J. Burns ; 1888-96, W. J. White. 

Principals of the High School : 1850-58, James Campbell ; 
1858-66, John W. Hall; 1866-72, William Smith; 1872-95, 
Charles B. Stivers ; 1895-96, Malcolm Booth. 

Principals of the Normal School: 1869-71, F. W. Parker; 
1871-73, Miss Emma A. H. Brown ; 1873-74, W. W. Watkins ; 
1874-83, ]\Iiss Jane W. Blackwood ; 1883-90, Miss Mary F. Hall ; 
1890-94, INIiss E. Kate Slaght; 1894-95, Mrs. Jane B. Marlay ; 
1895-96, Miss Grace A. Greene. 

Principals of the District Schools in 1896 : First District, 
James M. Craven ; Central, Miss Margaret Burns ; Third ( Nor- 
mal), Miss Grace A. Greene; Fourth, G. A. Lange ; Fifth, S. A. 
Minnich ; Sixth, Sigmund Metzler ; Seventh, W. J. Patterson ; 
Eighth, J. T. Tuttle ; Ninth, A. J. Willoughby ; Tenth, Miss Ella 
Beistle ; Eleventh, Miss INIary B. Westfall ; Twelfth, Perry A. 
Winder ; Thirteenth, C. C. Davidson ; Fourteenth, Miss Eeoti 
E. Clark; Fifteenth, J. R. Fenstermaker ; Sixteenth, A. l,. 

» Including the Public Library building 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF DAYTON 1 7 

Girard ; Seventeenth, Miss INIary K. Teriy ; Eighteenth, Harrj^ 
Weidner ; Nineteenth, J. M. Ebert. 

St. Mar3''s Institute was founded in 1850. 

Union Biblical Seminary was founded in 1871, and this year 
celebrates its quarter-centennial. 

In 1805 the citizens of Da3'ton obtained from the Legislature 
the first act of incorporation for a public library granted by the 
State of Ohio. This library existed until 1835, when it was sold 
at auction. In 1832 the Dayton Lj'ceum was established, and in 
connection with it a library. About 1833 there were no less than 
six public libraries in Da3'ton. The Dayton Library Association 
was formed in 1846, and soon collected an excellent librar3\ 
After a few 3^ears it was removed to an elegantly furnished room 
in the Phillips building, on the southeast corner of INIain and 
Second streets. It is said of it that at that day there was no library- 
room in Ohio, outside of Cincinnati, that would compare with it in 
beauty and convenience. A reading-room was connected with the 
library. In the fall of 1855 the Public School Library was opened 
in a room on the second floor of the United Brethren Publishing 
House. W. H. Butterfield was the first librarian. In 1858 the 
library was removed to the Central High School building. In i860 
the library of the Library Association was united with it, and it 
came into possession of the elegant rooms of the Association. In 
1867 the library was removed to the City Hall. In 1876 it occupied 
temporarih' a room in the building next north of the Court-house. 
When the new City Hall was completed, it was given excellent 
quarters in the second stor3', at the INIain vStreet end, where it re- 
mained until its removal to the elegant library building in Cooper 
Park in 1S88. ]\Iiss ]\Iinta I. Dr3'den is the present librarian. 

The first newspaper was published in 1806. Only a few num- 
befs were issued, and its name is now unknown. Its editor was 
a Mr, Crane, from Lebanon, Ohio. In 1808 the Repertory vidiS 
published, and was succeeded in 1810 by the Ohio Centinel. 
Since that time Dayton has never been long without a news- 
paper. The Da3^ton Journal is the oldest of those now in 
existence, and traces its history back to the period preceding 
1826. The city now has six dail3^ papers, and forty-nine periodi- 
cals of all kinds are now published. 

Daytonians have always been generous toward all philan- 
thropic movements. The Young INIen's Christian Association, 
the Woman's Christian Association, the Young Women's 



r8 HISTORIC AI. SKETCH OF DAYTON 

League, the Young Men's Institute, St. Joseph's Institute, the 
St. Elizabeth Hospital, the Deaconess Hospital, are all examples 
of what has been done for the good of the city. The many 
literary, musical, and social societies prove that Dayton people 
are interested in whatever cultivates the mind. 

The first member of the Dayton bar. Judge Crane, with his 
well-trained mind, legal learning, courteous and commanding 
bearing, simple life, and kind and helpful friendliness, had 
uncon.sciously done much to mold the character and ambitions 
of the young lawyers who were his companions and successors, 
so that the spirit of integrity came to be a characteristic of the 
early Dayton bar. Of the members of this early bar, Charles 
Ander.son became Governor of Ohio, four were judges, two mem- 
bers of Congress, and ten members of the Ohio Legislature. 
Several of the later attorneys have been members of Congress, 
and some of them are known throughout the country. 

The medical profession has been represented in Daj-ton by 
many excellent physicians. Karly in the history of the city 
medical societies were formed, and some of the later physicians 
have acquired more than local reputation. 

Dayton's most di.stinguished citizen was General Robert C. 
Schenck. He came to Dayton in 1S31 and began the practice 
of law. He afterwards became a member of Congress, United 
States Minister to Brazil, a general in the Civil War, Minister to 
Great Britain, and a menilier of the Joint High Commission 
providing for the Geneva Conference. He was said by President 
Lincoln to have been the first man who in a public address 
named him for the Presidency. 

The first male child born in Dayton was John W. Van Cleve, 
the son of Benjamin and Mary Whitten Van Cleve, born June 27, 
1801. He had a very tender feeling for this corner of the earth, 
which his father had helped to hew out of the wilderness. Orig- 
inal in character, odd in appearance, the J0II3' band of children 
who followed his burly figure through many holida}^ excursions 
grew wiser, happier, and healthier. Men and women found in him 
an intelligent, cultivated, and agreeable companion, and a very 
true and loyal friend. As a citizen he was advanced, enterpris- 
ing, and of unbending integrity. He was a graduate of Ohio 
University, at Athens, and was especially di-stingiiished for his 
fine scholarship. He was a lawyer, editor, musician, painter, 
engraver, engineer, and botanist, and served at different times as 




From a water-color portrait 



BENJAMIN VAN CLEVE, 

THE FIRST SCHOOL-TEACHER, THE FIRST POSTMAfSTKB, AND THE 

FIRST HISTORIAN OF DAVTON. 




DANIEL C. COOPER. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OP DAYTON 21 

Maj'or, cit}- engineer, and chief of the Fire Department. In 1839 
he made a map of the cit}-. To him more than to an}- other we 
are indebted for onr beantifnl Woodland Cemetery. He made the 
suggestion of a rural cemetery, and from the organization of the 
Woodland Cemeter}- Association, in 1842, to the time of his death, 
in 1858, served as its president and gave to its affairs an amount 
of labor and watchful supervision which money could not have 
purchased. In June, 1843, the cemetery was opened, being the third 
rural cemetery of any importance established in the United vStates. 

Calvary Cemetery and the Hebrew Cemetery are also beauti- 
fully situated on the bluffs below the city. 

Cooper's Mills were burned on the 20th of June, 1S20, and four 
thousand bushels of wheat and two thousand pounds of wool 
destroyed. This was the first fire of any importance that 
occurred in Dayton, and led to the organization of the first 
fire-compau}-. Council provided ladders, which were hung on 
the outside wall of the market-house on Second Street, and also 
passed an ordinance requiring each householder to provide two 
long, black, leather buckets, with his name painted thereon in 
white letters, and keep them in some place easily accessible 
in case of an alarm of fire. Before this no public provision 
for putting out fires had been made. 

In 1827 a fire-engine was purchased, and the first volunteer 
fire-compau}^ was organized. At the same time a hook-and-ladder 
company was formed. The church bells sounded the fire-alarm, 
and fifty cents were paid to each sexton when the fire happened 
after nine in the evening. The one who rang his bell first received 
a dollar. The engine was a small affair, filled with the leather 
buckets, and the water was thrown b}- turning a crank in its side. 

An alarm of fire brought oiit the whole population of the town, 
and the greatest excitement and confusion prevailed. Double 
lines were formed to the nearest pump, one line passing down 
the full buckets and the other returning the empt}- ones. Women 
were often efiicient workers in these lines. The water in a well 
would soon be exhausted, and a move had to be made to one more 
remote. It was hopeless to contend with a fire of any magnitude, 
and efforts in svicli cases were only made to prevent the spreading 
of the flames. 

In 1863 the first steam fire-engine was purchased, and our 
present splendidly equipped and perfecth* ordered paid department 
inaugurated. 



22 HISTORICAIv SKETCH OF DAYTON 

In 1S69 the citizens voted to introduce water-works, and the 
present admirable water-works system was established in 1870. 

January 3, 1834, an ordinance was passed by Council for the 
appointment of one or more watchmen. The marshal and these 
watchmen constituted the police of Dayton. After 1841 two 
constables were elected each year in addition to the marshal and 
deputy. In 1850 sixty men were added to this body. In 1873 the 
metropolitan police force was organized. The cit}- had no prison 
before 1858, its few offenders being confined in the county jail. 

The first market-house was opened July 4, 1815. The markets 
were held from four to ten o'clock in the morning on Wednesdays 
and Saturdays. The house was a frame building, and stood on 
Second Street, between Main and Jefferson. In 1829 a new 
market-house was built on Main Street, between Third and 
Fourth streets. In 1836 this was extended to Jefferson Street. 
In 1876 the present market-house was built. 

In 1812 Dayton furnished a company of soldiers for the war 
with England. It was also an important camping-place for the 
soldiers of this region, and was honored with visits from Gov- 
ernor Meigs, General Harrison, General Hull, and other men 
prominent in the war. Among the citizens of Dayton in com- 
mand of troops were Colonel Robert Patterson, Captain William 
Van Cleve, Captain James Steele, Captain A. Edwards, and 
Sergeant-Major Joseph H. Crane. A militarj^ hospital was located 
on the Court-house corner, in charge of Dr. John Steele. The 
business of the town was very much increased by the war, as 
Dayton furnished large quantities of supplies for the arm}'. 

In 1846-4S occurred the Mexican War. Several companies 
were organized in Dayton and fought in numerous battles. 

The city of Da^'ton did loyal service in the War of the Rebel- 
lion. The great majority of its citizens were on the side of the 
Union, and man}' of them laid down their lives for their coun- 
try. The city furnished for the United States service 2,699 ^o^ 
diers ; under special calls of the vState, 965 ; or a grand total of 
3,664. Prominent among these were General Robert C. Schenck, 
General T. J. Wood, Admiral James F. Schenck, and Rear-Admi- 
ral Greer. 

C. E. Vallandigham, one of Dayton's most talented citizens, 
and the Representative of the Third Ohio District in Congress at 
the opening of the War, was opposed to the War. He was 
arrested at his residence in Da3'ton May 5, 1S63, on a charge of 



HISTORICAI, SKETCH OF DAYTON 23 

" declaring S3aupathy for the enemy." His arrest was followed 
the next night by an attack on the Jo7ir)ial oiBce, which was 
burned by a mob composed of men who sympathized with the 
South. In 1864 the Empire office was mobbed by a small number 
of Union soldiers. 

Citizens who could not enlist in the army helped to support 
the families of those who became soldiers; societies of ladies 
were formed, who made clothing and prepared hospital supplies ; 
and in various ways assistance was rendered to the Union. 

Soon after the close of the War, the Central National Military 
Home was located near Dayton, and there the Government is 
providing for the soldiers who, having imperiled their lives for 
their country, are so disabled that they can no longer care for 
themselves. 

In 1S84 a soldiers' monument was erected by the county, at 
the head of Main Street, in memory of the brave men who went 
forth to battle never to return. 

Numerous floods have caused damage to propert}' in the city. 
The most destructive w^as that of September, 1866, which cost, in 
losses to individuals and to public property, no less than two 
hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 

In 1832 there were a number of deaths in the town caused by 
cholera. The first Board of Health was appointed in that year. 
In 1849, t)y a cholera epidemic, Dayton lost more than two 
hundred of her people. 

Houses were first lighted by gas in 1849, but street-lighting 
came a little later. At present the city is well supplied with 
both gas and electric light. 

In 1889 natural gas was introduced in Dayton for fuel pur- 
poses. Although not sufficiently plenty to supply many fac- 
tories, it has proved a great convenience to housekeepers. 

The manufacturing interests of Dayton have long been prom- 
inent. There has been a steady and substantial gro*vth in the 
number and size of manufacturing establishments, until in 1894, 
according to the report of the State Labor Statistician, the city 
ranked as the third in the vState in number of industries, capital 
invested, and wages paid, and fourth in the value of its manu- 
factured products. INIany of its establishments are very large, 
some employing from one to two thousand persons, and a number 
of them are known in almost every part of the globe. 

The stores, banks, building-associations, insurance companies, 



24 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF DAYTON 

and other branches of trade conduct a large amount of business, 
and rank high in the commercial world. 

On the 226. of October, 1892, the Columbian Centennial was 
appropriately celebrated in Dayton by an immense procession of 
school-children with historical floats exeniplifN'ing the discovery 
and the growth and prosperity of the nation, and of military and 
civil societies and industrial exhibits, followed by appropriate 
addresses and music in Cooper Park. 

The Fourth of July was a grand occasion in Dayton in the first 
quarter of the nineteenth century. It was often celebrated with 
processions, speeches, and dinners, and many of the prominent 
citizens served on the committees. The first "jubilee of the 
United States," commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the 
Declaration of Independence, was celebrated July 4, 1826, by a 
procession from the Court-house, services at the brick church, — 
First Presbyterian, — a dinner at Mr. Rollman's tavern, — -formerly 
Nevvcom's, — and a picnic at the medical spring near the present 
buildings of St, Mary's Institute, on Brown Street. The Declara- 
tion was read by J. W. Van Cleve, and an oration was delivered 
by Peter P. Lowe. 

Never in the history of the Northwest has there been a more 
exciting Presidential campaign than that which preceded the 
election of General W. II. Harrison in 1840, and nowhere was the 
enthusiasm for the hero of Tippecanoe greater than in Dayton. 
A remarkable Harrison convention was held here on the loth. of 
September, the date of Perry's victory on Lake Erie, and tradition 
has preserved extravagant accounts of the number present, the 
beauty of the emblems and decorations displayed, and the hospi- 
talit5rof the citizens and neighboring farmers. A procession five 
miles long met General Harrison at the junction of the Troy and 
Springfield roads, and escorted him into the cit}'. 

In early times, when hotel and boartling-house accommodations 
in Dayton were vfery limited, it was the custom, whenever there 
was a political or religious convention, or any other large public 
meeting here, for the citizens to freel}'* entertain the delegates at 
their homes. At night straw-beds were laid in rows, with a nar- 
row path between the rows, on the floors of rooms and halls in 
both stories of dwellings, and in this way accommodation was 
furnished for many guests. When a meeting was of a religious 
character, the different denominations assisted in entertaining 
the guests. A great part of the labor of preparing for the 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF DAYTON 



25 



hiiiigr}' crowd of guests Avas performed by Dayton ladies with 
their own hands. 

Among the men prominent in the early history of the city may 
be mentioned D. C. Cooper, Benjamin Van Cleve, Colonel George 
Newcom, Robert Edgar, Henry Brown, Judge Isaac Spining, 
William King, John H. Williams, Cyrus Osborn, Colonel Robert 
Patterson, George S. Houston, Joseph Peirce, Judge Joseph H. 
Crane, Charles Russell Greene, Judge James Steele, Dr. John 
Steele, Matthew Patton, Abram Darst, Dr. H. Jewett, Rev. James 
Welsh, M.D., Dr. John Elliott, Alexander Grimes, Henrj' Bacon, 
Luther Bruen, Jonathan Harshman, William Eaker, George 
W. Smith, William Huffman, Horatio G. Phillips, J. D. Phillips, 
Thomas Brown, Obadiah B. Conover, Samuel Forrer, Colonel 
Jerome Holt, Judge George Holt, Dr. Job Haines, James Perrine, 
Henry Stoddard, John W. Van Cleve, Collins Wight, INIilo 
G. Williams. E. E. Barney, James Hanna, John Folkerth, Aaron 
Baker. 



Note.— For a full account of the history of Dayton, the reader is referred 
to the booli entitled "Early Dayton," just issued by the publisher of this 
pamphlet. Price, in paper, 60 cents; cloth, $1.25. 



^^■jt^tiC^ ^_^^^^- -^-r^ 




BLOCKHOUSE. 

EEPBESENTATION OP THE BUILDING IN WHICH THE FIKST SCHOOL IN DAYTON 
WAS TAU(iHT, IN 1799. 




From a drawing by Kiigene 



THE ACADEMY BUILDING, 1833-1857. 
OCCUPIED BY THE HIGH SCHOOL FROM 1850 TO 1857. 



HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL TABLES 



LOCATION AND AREA. 

Dayton, the county-seat ot jioxitgomery County, Ohio, is located on both 
banks of the Great Miami River, at the confluence of Stillwater, Mad River, 
and Wolf Creek with the Miami, and on the line of the Miami and Erie 
Canal, sixty miles north-northetist ot Cincinnati, and seventy-one mile.^ west 
by south of Columbus. Its latitude is thirty-nine degrees forty-four minutes 
north, and its longitude is eighty-four degrees eleven minutes west from 
Greenwich, or seven degrees eleven minutes west from Washington. It is an 
important station on eleven railroads, which belong to four great systems, 
namely: The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis and the Dayton 
& Western, of the Pennsylvania Lines; the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago 
& St. Louis and the Dayton & Union, of the "Big Four" System; the Cin- 
cinnati, Hamilton & Dayton, the Dayton & Michigan the Cincinnati, Dayton 
& Ironton, and the Cincinnati, Dayton & Chicago, of the C, H. c: D. System; 
the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio, of the Erie System; th;- Dayton, 
Lebanon & Cincinnati Railroad, and the Home Avenue Railroad. Thirty- 
six hard-graveled roads radiate in all directions from the city, with an 
aggregate length of over six hundred miles. The extreme dimensions of 
Dayton are: east and west, five and one-eighth miles; north and south, three 
and one-half miles. Its area is about ten and three-quarters square miles. 







POPULATION. 






1796.. 


..About 36. 


1840.... 6,067. 


1870.. 


..30,473. 


1802.. 


..Five families. 


1845.... 9,792. 


1880.. 


..38,678. 


1810.. 


..38a 


1850.... 10,976. 


1890.. 


..61,220. 


1820.. 
1830.. 


..1,139. 
..2,954. 


1860....20,08L 


1896.. 


..About 



CITY GOVERNMENT AND INSTITUTIONS. 
(Compiled from latest reports.) 

MAYOR. 

Elected for two years; ex officio president of Board of Police Directors and 
Board of Health, and organizes the City Council; appoints the Board of City 
Affairs, the Tax Commission, Board of Work-House Directors, and Board of 
Elections. 

BOARD OF CITY AFFAIRS. 

Four members; term of office four years, one being appointed each year 
by the Mayor; powers executive. 

27 



2» HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL TABLES 

CITY COUNCIL. 

Sixteen members, elected from eight wards by tlie voters of the wards; 
term of office two years, half expiring each year; powers legislative. 

Measures involving expenditure and public franchises must be approved 
by both City Council and Board of City Affairs. 

BOAKB OF ELECTIONS. 

Four members, appointed by the Mayor, one secretary. 

BOARD OF EQUALIZATION. 

Six members, elected by the City Council. 

M ISCELL AN EOUS. 

City clerk, elected by the Council; treasurer, elected by the people; comp- 
troller, solicitor, engineer, sealer of weights and measures, mariiet-master, 
superintendent of levees, appointed by the Board of City Affairs; wood- 
measurer, elected by the people. 

PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 

Board of Education.— i^x-aieen members, elected for two years from eight 
wards by the voters of the wards, half being elected each year. 

Officers and Teachers.— Cler^, superintendent of instruction, superintend- 
ent of buildings, truant officer, city board of examiners with three members, 
twenty principals, twenty-five High School teachers, throe Normal School 
teachers, two Manual-Training School teachers, four special teachers, 251 
district-school teachers; total number of teachers, 305. 

Enumeration of School Youth ( Between six and twenty-one years of age). — 
Public schools, 10,960; private schools, 210; church schools, 2,102; not attend- 
ing, 7,276; grand total, 20,578. 

Xumber of Pupils in Public iS'e/ioofe.— District schools, 5,143 boys, 5,037 girls, 
or a total of 10,180; High School, 207 boys, 474 girls, or a total of 771; Normal 
School, 31; grand total, 10,982. In Manual-Training School, 45 pupils from the 
High School and 76 pupils from the eighth grade of the district schools; 
total, 121. 

/ScTwo^s.— Nineteen district schools, one high school, one manual-training 
school, one normal school, two night grammar-schools, two night drawing- 
schools. 

Buildings.— Tvfeniy-nine district buildings, including annexes, one high- 
school building, one library building. Total value in 1895, $1,269,416.50; in- 
cluding personal property, 81,323,525.50. Value of High School: lot, $60,000; 
building, $255,000; personal property, ^11,358; total, $326,358. 

i^'monces.— Receipts, exclusive of temporary loans and bonds, for the year 
ending August 31, 1895, $314,878.14; expenses, exclusive of bonded debt and 
temporary loans, $355,700.81; bonded debt, August 31, 1895, $485,000. 

PUBLIC LIBRARY. 

Board of six members, elected by the Board of Education; librarian, cat- 
aloguer, five library assistants; occupies a fine stone library building, fire- 
proof, erected in Cooper Park in 1886-87, and valued at $100,000; contains 
35,325 volumes and 1,292 pamphlets; card and printed catalogues; museum 
attached; expenses, 1894-95, $10,830.50, of which $2^01.70 was spent for the 
purchase of books and periodicals, and $1,094.03 for the museum. 



CITY GOVERNMENT AND INSTITUTIONS 29 

POLICE DEPARTMENT. 

Organ kation.— Mayor and four police directors, secretary, police judge, 
clerk of the police court, superintendent, captain, five sergeants, detective 
sergeant, surgeon, seventy-five patrolmen (eight mounted), two turnkeys, 
court bailiff, two telephone operators, one police matron. 

Headquarters.— In City Building. 

Equipment.— One ceiitral station, two substations, one patrol house, two 
patrol wagons, one ambulance, sixteen horses. 

Finances.— lS9i : Receipts, $76,622.31 ; disbursements, $69,959.99; balance, Jan- 
uary 1, 1895, $6,662.32. 

A police benevolent association. 

WORK - HOUSE. 

Four directors, appointed l)y the Mayor, superintendent, matron; one 
work-house. 

FIRE DEPARTMENT. 

Organization.— ¥onr fire commissioners, chief and secretary, first assistant 
chief, second assistant cliief, seventy-six firemen. 

Equipment.— TweWe engine, hose, and hook-and-ladder houses; a fire- 
alarm telegraph system, with over one hundred boxes; four steam fire- 
engines; two chemical engines; thirteen hose wagons; three hook-and-ladder 
wagons; two telegraph wagons; three buggies; thirty-six horses. 

Finances.— l9ldo: Cost of maintenance, $67,217.29; value of. real estate, $90,500. 

iSeri'tce.— Number of alarms in 1895, 344; total loss, t21, 978.05; total value of 
property where fires occurred, $2,012,675; total insurance, $1,611,5.57. The loss 
amounted to only about twenty-five cents per capita of the population. 

A firemen's benevolent association. 

WATER -WORKS. 

Established, 1870,. 

Organization.— Three tmstees, secretary, assistant secretarj', chief engineer, 
first assistant engineer, second assistant engineer, superintendent of street 
department, two inspectors and collectors. 

Equipment.— One pumping-house; three engi"nes, with combined daily 
capacity of 29,000,000 gallons; eighty-five eight-inch tube-wells, driven to a 
depth of forty-five to fifty feet; over ninety-six miles of street mains, 987 
fire-hydrants, 8,607 service connections, 1,300 meters. 

Finances.— TotuX expenditures, 1870 to December 31, 1895, $1,792,560.39; total 
income to December 3L, 1895, $938,872.77; net cost to December 81, 1895, $853,- 
687.62; water-works bonded debt, November, 1895, $765,000, which is gradually 
being paid; cost of pipe, hydrants, etc., and laying of same, 1870-95, $700,000; 
received from sale of water, 1870-95, $860,926.83; net earnings, 1870-95, $342,000. 

Quality of the Water.— The quality of the water, by recent analysis, has 
been found to be first-class. It is clear, cold, and remarkably free from 
injurious matter. In a recent analysis an average of only forty-eight germs 
to the cubic centimeter were found in the samples examined. The average 
temperature in the pipes is about 50'. 

BOARD OF HEALTH. 

Mayor and six members of the board, health officer, secretary, meat 
in.spector, four sanitary policemen. 



30 HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL TABLES 

CITY INFIRMARY. 

Three directors, superintendent, clerk, city physician. 

MARKETS. 

Two marliet-bouses, with street markets adjoining; one market-master. 

TAX COMMISSION. 

Six members, appointed by the Mayor. 

TAXES. 

City Expenses, 1891,-95, 

Board of Health and Sanitary 10 mills f4,104 82 

Bridges 25 mills 10,262 05 

Elections 15 mills 6,157 23 

Fire Department 1.75 mills 71,834 37 

General Expense 60 mills 2-1,628 93 

Hospitals ( Deaconess and St. Elizabeth ) 05 mills 2,052 41 

Infirmary 05 mills 2,052 41 

Lighting 70 mills 28,733 75 

Police Department 1.10 mills 45,153 03 

Parks and Levees 05 mills 2,052 41 

Street Cleaning 75 mills 30,786 16 

Street Improvement 35 mills 14,366 87 

Sewers 05 mills 2,052 41 

Work - House 05 mills 2,052 41 

School Paving 10 mills 4,104 82 

6.10 mills KoO,3!)4 08 

City Interest and Sinking Fund 5.45 mills 223,712 73 

«474,106 81 
Board of Education, 1895-96. 

Regular Levy 7.00 mills $288,974 49 

Manual-Training School 20 mills 8,256 41 

Public Library .25 mills 10,320 52 

Taxes for All Purposes, 1S95-96. 

s^vy. County, and State 20.00 mills $1,073,333 82 

Tax Valuation, 1895-96. 
Taxable Property $41,282,070 

BONDED DEBT. 

General Bonds. 

(Principal and interest payable from a direct tax upon the General 
Duplicate.) 
Outstanding March 1, 1895— 

Bridge $68,000 00 

City Hall 71,000 00 

City Prison 10,000 00 

Extending Indebtedness 150,000 00 

Fire Department 24,000 00 

Funded Debt 249,000 00 



PERIODICALS — CHURCHES 



31 



Outstanding March 1, 1895— 

General Street and Improvement ^,(XIO 00 

Levee 30,000 00 

Park Street Sewer 126,000 00 

Police Deficiency 36,000 00 

Se iver 150,000 00 

Street Paving 528,000 00 

Southwestern Sewer 17,000 00 

Street Improvement 150,000 00 

Wolf Creek Improvement 50,000 00 

"Water -Works 505,000 00 

Water- Works Enlargement 3,000 00 

Water-Works Improvement 280,000 00 

Total $2,497,000 00 

Improvement Bonds. 

(Principal and interest payable from assessments upon abutting or 
benefited property.) 
Outstanding March 1, 1895— 

Street Paving $1,178,000 00 

Sewer 180,000 00 

Special Assessment 36,165 00 

Total $1,394, 165 00 

FER'ODICALS. 



SECtTLAR. 

Daily. — Six, one of which is Gerinan. 
Weekly.— ^ii\Q, one of which is German. 
Monthly.— Two. 

Total.— Seventeen. 

RELIGIOUS. 

Weekly. — Eleven, one of which is German. 
Semimonthly.— 'Nine, one of which is German. 
llonthly.— Three. 
Quarterly.— Nine, one of which is German. 

rotoi.- Thirty -two. 

Grand Total.— Forty-nine. 



CHURCHES. 



Baptist, 11. 
Baptist Brethren, 1. 
Christian, 2. 
Congregational, 1. 
Disciples of Christ, 2. 
Dunkards, 2. 

Evangelical Association, : 
Hebrew, 3. 
Lutheran, 7. 
Methodi-st Episcopal, 10. 



Methodist Episcopal, African, 2. 
Methodist Protestant, 1. 
Methodist, Wesleyan, 1. 
Presbyterian, 7. 
Protestant Episcopal, 3. 
Reformed, 5. 
Roman Catholic, 7. 
Salvation Army, 1. 
United Brethren in Christ, 12. 
United Presbyterian. 1. 



32 HISTORICAIv AND STATISTICAL TABLES 

CHURCH AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 

PROTESTANT. 

Union Biblical Seminary, the theological school of the Church of the 
United Brethren in Christ; four professors, one general manager, and forty- 
three students. 

St. Paul's German Lutheran School, common branches. 

KOMAN CATHOLIC. 

Eight parochial schools and academies. 

St. Mary's Institute; twenty-one officers and professors, 275 students in 
institute, and 120 students in normal department. 



Miami Commei-cial College. Young Ladies and Misses' School. 

Dayton Commercial College. Home School for Boys. 

English Training School. Conservatory of Music. 

Deaver Collegiate Institute. Dayton College of Music. 

BENEVOLENT AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 

Young Men's Christian Association.— A Protestant institution, founded in 
1870; occupies a fine stone-front building on the south side of Fourth Street, 
between Main and Jefferson; value of property, over $100,000; membership, 
over 2,500; conducts religious, educational, and physical departments, includ- 
ing manual training and industrial education; has reception-room, par- 
lors, reading-room, junior room, educational rooms, shop, entertainment 
hall, gymnasium, bath-rooms, and athletic park; receipts in 1894-95, 119,386.95; 
expenses, 119,269.6.5. 

Woman's Chi-istian Association.— A Protestant institution, founded in 1870; 
occupies excellent brick buildings on the south side of Third Street, between 
Ludlow and Wilkinson; value of property, $60,000; membership, about 
350; includes a young woman's department; conducts religious, charitable, 
educational, and physical departments, lunch-room, and exchange; has 
reception-room, parlors, reading-room, educational rooms, entertainment 
hall, industrial class-room, gymnasium, bath-rooms, etc. ; receipts in 1894-95, 
$4,279.41; expenses, $4,242.92. 

Young Women's League.— Founded in 1895; occupies a brick building on 
the west side of Jefferson Street, between Fifth and Sixth streets; member- 
ship, 450; conducts religious, educational, and physical departments, and 
lunch-room. 

Young Men's Institute.— A Roman Catholic institution; occupies a brick 
building on the south side of Fourtli Street, lutwcon Ludlow and Wilkinson. 

St. Joseph's Institute.— Condwcied by tlic (alliolic Gcsellen-Verein, for the 
benefit of young men; organized in ISdS; furnislies reading-room, gymna- 
sium, and free circulating library; building located on Montgomery Street. 

Protestant Deaconess Home and Hospital.— Founded in 1890 by the Protestant 
Deaconess Society of Dayton; occupies an expensive pressed-brick building 
on south side of Apple Street, between Main and Brown, costing, with 
equipment, about $150,000; capacity, 175 patients. 

St. Elizabeth Hospital.— A Roman Catholic institution, founded in 1878; 
conducted by the Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis; occupies a large brick 



SOCIETIES AND CIvUBS 33 

building on the west side of Hopeland Street, between Wasliington and 
Albany, costing over 165,000; capacity, 242 patients. 

Widoios' Home.— Founded in 1875, by the Woman's Christian Association; 
occupies a brick building on the northeast corner of Findlay and May 
streets; capacity, twenty-eight inmates; endowment, 137,3.58.79; receipts, 
lor year ending October .5, 189.5, $3,124.99; expenses, $2,911.59. 

Montgoimry County Children's i/oHie.— Founded in 1866; occupies a bricli 
building on the east side of Summit Street, south of Home Avenue; number 
of inmates in February, 189.5, fifty-one, of whom thirty-eight were boys and 
thirteen were girls; total received from the founding, 1,864. 

Christian Deaconess Home. — Monument Avenue, West Side. 

Children's 7/ome.— 116 South Ringgold Street. 

Bethany Home.— For homeless girls and women; 159 East Park Street. 

National Soldiers' Home (Central Branch).— Founded in 1867; located a 
short distance west of the city; grounds cover six hiindred and twenty-flve 
acres; number of inmates, about 6,000. 

Southern Ohio Asylum for the Insane. — Founded in 18.52; located at the south 
end of Wayne Avenue; capacity, 800 patients. 

Humane Society. 

Women's Christian Temperance Union, No. 1. 

Women's Christian Tcmjjcrance Union, No. 2. 

St. Joseph's Oerman Catholic Asylum. 

Other Societies.— 'Swraerous lodges of Masons, Knights of Pythia.s, Knights 
of St. John, Odd Fellows, Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, Grand Army 
of the Republic, Sons of Veterans, Woman's Veteran Relief Union, Order of 
United American Mechanics, Knights of Labor, trades unions, and other 
orders. 

LITERARY AND MUSICAL SOCIETIES. 

Present Day Club. Shakespeare Club. 

Woman's Literary Club. Philharmonic Society. 

" H. H." Club. Mozart Club. 

Emerson Club. Harmonia Society. 

Friday Afternoon Club. Maennerchor. 

POLITICAL CLUBS. 

Garfleld Club. Tliurman Club. 

Jackson Club. Lincoln Club. 

Gravel Hall Club. 

SOCIAL, CYCLING, GYMNASTIC, AND OTHER CLUBS. 

Dayton Club. Dayton Gymnastic Club. 

Dayton Bicycle Club. Dayton Turngemeinde. 

Y. M. C. A. Wheelmen. Stillwater Canoe Club. 

Dayton Lawn Tennis Club. Ruckawa Canoe Club. 

Dayton Angling Club. Dayton Camera Club. 

MILITARY COMPANIES. 

Phoenix Light Infantry, Company G, Third Regiment Infantry, Ohio 
National Guard. 

Gem City Light Infantry, Company I, Third Regiment Infantry, Ohio 
National Guard. 



34 HISTOx --^i^T, A.ND STATISTICAL TABLES 

STREET-RAILWAYS. 

City Hailivay.— Third Street Line, from the east end of Third Street to the 
Soldiers' Home; electric; len^h of line, over six miles of double track and 
less than one-quarter mile of single track. 

Fifth Street Line, from the east end of Huffman Avenue to the Soldiers' 
Home; electric; length of line, six and one-half miles of double track and 
about one-half mile of single track. 

Green Line, from the east end of Richard Street to the corner of Fifth 
and Wilkinson; electric; length of line, over two miles of double track. 

Authorized capital, $2,100,000; total length of lines operated, over fourteen 
and one-half miles of double track and about three-quarters of a mile of 
single track. 

Oakivood Street-Railway.— Yrova. the north end of Salem Street in Dayton 
View to Oakwood, at the south end of Brown Street; electric; capital, $;300,- 
000; length of line, about four miles of double track. 

White Lhie Street -Railway. — Frora the corner of Main Street and Forest 
Avenue in Riverdale, via Main, Third, Ludlow, Washington, and German- 
town Ntrc'cts to the Soldiers' Home; electric; capital, $400,000; length of line, 
about >ix inil<s of double track. 

Wdlinc Aviiiiw and Fifth Street Railway.— From, the south end of Wayne 
Avenue, via Wayne Avenue, Fifth, Jefferson, First, Keowee, and Valley 
streets to the east end of Valley Street in North Dayton; horse-cars; capital, 
$100,000; length of line, about three miles of double track and about one 
mile of single track. 

Dayton Traction Company. — South Main Street, from the corner of Fifth and 
extending to Calvary Cemetery; electric; capital, $250,000; length of line, one 
and one-half miles of double track and one and one-half miles of single track. 

Total length of street railways operated, over twenty-nine miles of double 
track and about three and one-quarter miles of single track. About two 
and one-half miles of double track being used jointly, the net length of 
double track is about twenty-six and one-half miles. 

STREET IMPROVEMENTS. 

Total length of streets in the city, one hundred and fifty-eight miles, of 
which nearly twenty-five miles are paved, as follows: asphalt, fourteen 
miles; brick, nearly nine miles; granite, over one mile; Medina stone, over 
one-half mile. Total cost of paving, $l,800,iX)0. Eighty-three miles of streets 
are graded and graveled, and fifty miles are unimproved. 

Thirty-nine miles of sanitary sewers and forty miles of storm sewers have 
been laid, at a cost of $495,000. 

COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL. 

Board of Trade.— Officers : president, first vice-president, second vice-pres. 
ident, secretary, treasurer, fifteen directors. 

National Banks.— Seven, with combined capital of $2,.500,000, and cash assets 
of over 1:3,000,000; a clearing-house. 

Building and Loan Associations.— Beventeen, with combined capital amount- 
ing to $43,350,000. 

Fire-insurance Companies (Home).— Seven, with investment of $700,000, 
and net assets amounting to $1,213,204; one underwriters' association. 

Incorporated Companies.— One hundred and seventy, with capital stock of 
over $25,000,000. 



COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL 35 

Siiilders' Exchan(/e.— Officers: president, first vice-president, second vice- 
president, secretary, treasurer. 

6r0.s Company. 

jS'atural Gas Company. 

Electric Light Company. 

Telegraph and Cable Compaiiies. — Two. 

District Telegraph Company. 

Teh'pJione Exchange. 

.^"'hvays: — Eleven, with sixty-four passenger trains daily. 
: aiu/acturing Establishments.— dumber, about one thousand; capital in- 
vested in 1S94, $11,6.50,043; value of manufactured products, 1894, $10,103,913.60; 
wages paid, 1894, 8^2,176,156.15. In number of factories, in capital invested in 
manufacturing industries, and in wages paid, Dayton ranks as the third 
city in the State; in value of manufactured products, fourth. 

POSTOFFICE STATISTICS, 1895. 

Postage Receipts S178,451.08 

Expenses of Office $74,648.98 

Number of Money Orders Issued 19,852 

Value of Money Orders Issued $154,367.35 

Number of Money Orders Paid 60,058 

Value of Money Orders Paid $;i33,093.77 

Pieces of First-Class Mail Received 4,480,000 

Pieces of All Other Classes Received 3,948,800 

Special Letters Received 9,831 

Pieces of First-Class Mail Dispatched 7,620,907 

Pieces of All Other Classes Dispatched 7,054,850 

Special Letters Dispatched 6,257 

Registered Letters and Parcels Received . 40,920 

Registered Letters and Parcels Dispatched 19,742 

Total Number Pieces Received and Dispatched 23,120,645 

"S^'eight in Pounds of Second-Class Matter Mailed by Publishers... 47,441 

Number of Carriers 40 

Mail Trains Arriving Daily 39 

Mail Trains Departing Daily 42 

CHRONOLOGICAL RECORD. 

1749— French Major Celoron de Bienville ascended the La Roche or Big Miami 
River. 

1751 — Gist visited the Twightwee or Miami villages. 

1780— General George Rogers Clark led an expedition against the Indians of 
the Miami region, one of his officers being Colonel Robert Patterson. 

1782 — November 9, A skirmish between American soldiers under General 
Clark and the Indians on the site of Dayton, in which the Amer- 
icans were victorious. 

1786— Americans under Colonel Logan again defeated the Indians on the site 
of Dayton, one of the brigades being commanded by Colonel Robert 
Patterson. 

1789— Plans formed for a town named Venice on the site of Dayton. 

1795— August 3, A treaty of peace made with the Indians at Greenville, Ohio, 
by General Wayne — August 20, The site of Dayton purchased by 
Generals St. Clair, Dayton, and Wilkinson, and Colonel Ludlow — 
November, The town laid out by Colonel Israel Ludlow. 



36 HISTORICAI, AND STATISTICAL TABLES 

1796— April 1, Arrival of first settlers, by the Miami River, landing at the 
head of St. Clair Street; two other parties coming a few days later 
by land— Newcom's first log cabin built. 

1798— First sermon preached in Dayton by Rev. John Kobler, of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church — First Methodist Episcopal class, now Grace 
Church, organized, with eight members — Newcom's Tavern built— 
Taxes paid, S29.74. 

1799— First Presbyterian Church organized — Blockhouse built— First school 
opened — First industries established, consisting of di^illery, saw- 
mill, and corn-cracker mill — First lime made — First fiatboat left 
for New Orleans — Dayton three years old and contained nine cabins 
— Only two houses on Main Street— D. U. Cooper appointed Justice 
of the peace. 

1800— Presbyterian meeting-house, eighteen by twenty feet in size, built of 
logs, on northeast corner of Main and Third streets — August 28, 
First wedding in Dayton, that of Benjamin Van Cleve and Mary 
Whitten— April 14, First child born in Dayton, Jane Newcom— First 
store opened, in Newcom's Tavern. 

1801— First male child born in Dayton, John W. Van Cleve. 

1802— Only five families in Dayton — Oliio admitted into the Union. 

1803 — D. C. Cooper resuscitated the town — Montgomery County organized — 
Dayton made the county-seat — First court held in Dayton — New- 
corn's Tavern used as court-house, jail, church, and country store. 

1804— Postoflice and mail-route established — Benjamin Van Cleve, first post- 
master—Mail every two weeks, between Cincinnati and Detroit, via 
Dayton — Letter postage twenty to twenty-five cents — Log jail built 
on Court-house lot — First grist-mill erected —Taxes for the year, 
fl58.40. 

1805— The town of Dayton incorporated — First town election held — Presby- 
terian lofi meeting-house sold for twenty-two dollars and services 
continuccl in log tavern — Dayton Social Library Society incorpo- 
rated—First brick building erected — First disastrous flood. 

1806 — First Court-house built, of brick, on present Court-house lot — Two 
brick stores erected— First newspaper published. 

1807 — Dayton Academy incorporated. 

1808— First brick residence built — 196 votes cast— Repertory first published. 

1809— Freigiat line of keel-boats established between Dayton, Laramie, and 
St. Mary's — Fourth of July celebrated with a procession —First 
drug-store opened — First political convention in the county. 

1810— Population, 383— New sidewalks ordered by Select Council— OAio Centi- 

nel first published. 

1811— Nine flatboats left for New Orleans, with products of the surrounding 

country — A comet visible, and severe earthquake shocks felt. 
1812— A company enlisted for the War of 1812 — Ohio militia encamped in 

Dayton. 
1313— First society of mechanics organized— First Dayton bank chartered — 

August 13, Present Grand Opera House lot, on southeast corner of 

Main and First streets, purchascLl by James Steele and Joseph 

Peirce for twenty dollars. 

1814— First Methodist church completed— Ferry began to operate at Ludlow 

Street— OMo Repuhhcan first published — First Dayton bank opened 
for business — A flood. 

1815— Dayton Female Charitable and Bible Society organized — First market- 



CHRONOLOGICAL RECORD 37 

house opened — About cue liuudrcd dwellings in Dayton, chiefly log 
cabins— Moral Society and Society of Associated Bachelors formed 

— First school for girls opened. 

1S16 — First theater held in Dayton— O/iio Watchman first published. 

isi7_Xe\v Court-house finished- Presbyterians erected a brick church — 
St. Thomas Episcopal Parish organized — Bridge across Mad River 
built — Bridge Street Bridge Company incorporated — First Sabbath- 
School Association organized — Only two carriages owned in Dayton. 

1}^18_ Stage-coach line began to run between Dayton and Cincinnati. 

lj^iy_A keel-boat arrived from Cincinnati — St. Thomas Episcopal Church 
organized— An African lion exhibited at Reid's Inn — Bridge at 
Bridge Street completed. 

1820 — Cooper's Mills burned — Population, 1,000. 

1822— Montgomery County Bible Society organized — Lancasterian method of 
instruction introduced — The Gridiron published— Seven flatboats 
and one keel-boat left for New Orleans. 

1823 — J/ia«u Republican and Dayton Advertiser first published. 

1824— First Baptist Church organized— First cotton factory erected, by Thomas 
Clegg. 

1825 — Law passed authorizing the construction of a canal from Dayton to 
Cincinnati— Stage-line established between Columbus, Dayton, and 
Cincinnati— 497 passengers by stage passed through Dayton during 
the year. 

1826— The Waichman and Miami Republican consolidated, and named the 
Ohio yational Journal and Montgomery and Dayton Advertiser, after- 
ward becoming the Dayton Journal. 

1827— First volunteer fire company organized— Baptist society built a church. 

1828— Water first turned into the canal — First canal-boat launched — Twenty 
stage-coaches arrived every week — First iron foundry established, 
now the Globe Iron Works — A flood. 

1829 — First arrival of canal-boats from Cincinnati — First temperance society 
formed— A new market-house built — Last factory established, now 
Crawford, McGregor & Canby's Dayton Last Works — Steele's dam 
constructed— A majority of the First Baptist Church established a 
Campbellite church, now the Church of Christ. 

1830— Population, •l^'i'A — Dayton Republican flrst published. 

1831 — First public school opened — Christ Church Parish organized- First 
Catholic family arrived in Dayton — R. C. Schenck began practice 
of law in Dayton. 

1832— A fugitive slave captured in Dayton — First Board of Health appointed 

— Fifty-one brick and sixty-two wooden houses built — A silk man- 
ufactory established — Dayton Lj^ceuni organized — First parochial 
schoolopened— Aflood — Mad River & Lake Erie Railroad Company 
incorporated. 

1833— First Reformed Church organized — Mechanics' Institute orgajiized — 
Population, 4,000 — Thirty- three deaths from cholera. 

ISi^— Democratic Herald first published — Police Department organized. 

1835— Firemen's Insurance Company chartered. 

1S3G— Main Street bridge opened for travel — First book published. 

1837 — Emmanuel Catholic Church dedicated. 

1838— The " public square," now Cooper Park, prepared for and planted with 
trees— Convention held in the interest of free schools— Dayton and 
Springfield turnpike constructed— Montgomery County Agricul- 



38 HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL TABLES 

tural Society organized— Erection of public school-liouses ordered 
— Tliird Street Bridge Company formed. 

1839 — Dayton Township first divided into election precincts — First county 
agricultural fair held — Day ton Silk Company organized, with capital 
of $100,000— First English Lutheran Church orgr.uized. 

1840— Harrison campaign —General Harrison visited D:. , ton — Dayton Journal 
began to issue first daily paper— Emmanuel Church of the Evangel- 
ical Association organized— Population, 6,067— Paper-mill established 

— Montgomery County Mutual Fire Insurance Company organized. 
1841— Dayton incorporated as a city— The works of W. P. Callahan & Com- 
pany established. 

I&i2— Western Empire, now Daj'ton Times, established. 

1843— Woodland Cemetery opened— John Quincy Adams ente tained— Bank 
of Dayton chartered by the State Legislature. 

1844— St. Henry's Cemetery opened. 

1845— Bank of Dayton ( a State bank ), now the Dayton National Bank, organ- 
ized—Dayton Bank, to which the Winters National Bank traces its 
origin, organized. 

1846— Dayton furnished soldiers for the Mexican War. 

1847 —Disastrous flood— Dayton Library Association organized — First United 
Brethren Church organized— First telegraph message received. 

1849— Two hundred and twenty-five deaths from cholera— The Barney & 
Smith Car Wcriis established— Dayton lighted by gas— St. Mary's 
Institute founded— W. C. Howells purchased the Daytoa Transcript. 

1850 — Central High School established — Present old Court-house completed 

— City Bank and Farmers' Bank opene;^ — D. L. Hike, now tLi; C'^'y: 
Dry Goods Company, began business — First Hebrew Congregt tion 
organized- Population, 10,976. 

1851— First railroad, from Dayton to Springfield completed- Cincinnati, 
Hamilton & Dayton Railway coiapleted to Dayton — First passenger 
station located at northeast co.'ner of Jefterson and Sixth streets- 
Miami Va'ley Banli estaul. shed — Dayton Insurance Company 
organized — Hebrew cemetery opened. 

1852— Probate Court of Montgomery County first opened -southern Ohio 
Insane Asylum located at Dayton — Exchange Bank, successor of the 
Dayton Bank, opened — Dayton & Union Railroad opened for traffic. 

1853— United Brethren Publishing House, established in 1834 at Circleville, 
Ohio, removed to Dayton— Dayton & Western Railroad opened. 

1854— First Orthodox Congregational Society organized. 

1855— Public Library established — Works of Pinneo & Daniels established. 

1856— Union Passenger Station erected. 

1857— Old Central High School building erected. 

1859— Stomps-Burkhardt chair factory established. 

1860— Miami Commercial College established— Population, 20,081. 

1861-65 — Dayton furnished to the United States service 2,699 soldiers; under 
special calls of the State, 965; grand total of Dayton men in the 
service, 3,664. 

1862— Lowe Brothers' paint factory founded. 

1863— First J^ational Bank, no>«v the City National Bank, established- Sec- 
ond National Bank chartered — Miami "Valley Insurance Company 
organized — First steam fire-engine purchased — Vallandigham ar- 
rested — Jounml office burned — Dayton & Michigan Railroad opened. 

186i — Empire office mobbed— The-Bro^nell Company began business. 



CHRONOLOGICAL RECORD 39 

1865— Miami Valley Boi.er Works established— Teutonia Insurance Com- 
pany organized- Ohio Insurance Company began business — Atlan- 
tic & Great Western Railroad, now the New York, Pennsylvania & 
Ohio, formed by the consolidation of several roads. 

18ed— Great destruction by flood — National Soldiers' Home located near 
Dayton— Stil well & Bieree Manufacturing Company began business 
— T'b?A-s-^eiYu?!g' established — Christian Publishing Association, estab- 
lished in 1843, reincorporated and located in Dayton. 

1867— Central Branch National Military Home established near Dayton — 
Dayton Buildi'-g Association No. 1 organized — Montgomery County 
Children's Home founded — Cooper Insurance Company incorpo- 
rated. 

1868— McHose & Lyon Architectural Iron Works established — John Dodds 
began to manufacture agricultural implements. 

1860- First street-railway constructed, on Third Street — Normal School 
opened — Dayton Malleable Iron Company incorporated— Thresher 
& Company began to manufacture varnish— Sunday, May 16, 1 a.m., 
Turner's Opera House and adjoining buildings burned; loss, $500,000 ; 
insurance, $128,000. 

1870— Holly Water- Works established — Young Men's Christian Association 
organized— Woman's Christian Association organized — Population, 
30,473— Cincinnati "Short Line" Railroad, now a part of the Cleve- 
land, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, incorporated. 

1871— Union Biblical Seminary opened —Merchants National Bank incorpo- 
rated—Wayne and Fifth Street Railway and Dayton View Street- 
Railway chartered. 

1872 — Calvary Cemetery opened. 

1873 — Metropolitan police force organized — Mutual Home and Savings Asso- 
ciation organized. 

1874— Philharmonic Society organized — New jail completed — Smith &. Vaile 
Company began business. 

1875— J. W. Stoddard & Company began business. 

1877 — Free night schools established— Crume & Sefton Manufacturing Com- 

pany established — Dayton & Southeastern Railroad, now the Cin- 
cinnati, Dayton & Ironton, opened. 

1878 — St. Elizabeth Hospital founded— Woodhull's carriage and buggy works 



1879— Dayton Daily Herald first published. 

1880 — Fifth Street Railway Company incorporated — Population, 38,678. 

1881 -St. Elizabeth Hospital erected. 

1882— Third National Bank chartered — Columbia Insurance Company organ- 
ized—Reformed Publishing Company organized. 

1883— Serious flood — Montgomery County Bar Association organized — Elec- 
tric light introduced — Dayton Manufacturing Company incorpo- 
rated—Historical Publishing Company incorporated. 

1884 — New Court-house completed— National Cash Register Company organ- 
ized—Montgomery County Soldiers' Monument dedicated — Ohio 
Rake Company incorporated. 

1886— A destructive flood, damaging West Dayton. 

1887— White Line Street-Railway, the first operated by electricity, constructed 
— Union Safe Deposit and Trust Company incorporated — Pasteur- 
Chamberland Filter Company incorporated— Board of Trade organ- 
ized. 



40 



HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL TABLES 



1888— New Public Library building occupied — Fourth National Bank incor- 
porated—Davis Sewing-Macliine Company removed to Dayton — 
First street-paving laid, on East Fifth Street. 

1889— Woman's Literary Club organized — Natural gas introduced — Teutonia 
National Bank chartered. 

1890— Protestant Deaconess Society organized — First sanitary sewei-s laid — 
Lorenz & Company, music publishers, began business — Population, 
61,220. 

1891 — Dayton Computing Scale Company incorpoi'ated — Dayton Under- 
writers' Association incorporated — Deaconess Society opened a 
temporary hospital— Dayton P?-e«s established. 

1892— Columbian Centennial celebrated— Sey bold Machine Company incor- 
porated. 

1893— New High School building completed — Thresher Electrical Company 
began business. 

1894— Deaconess Hospital completed and dedicated— Police matron appointed. 

1895— All street railways except one operated by electricity —Dayton Traction 
Company began to operate its line — Present Day Club organized- 
Young Women's League organized. 

1896— Manual-training school opened- Population, about 80,000— Sixty-four 
passenger trains daily — April 1, Centennial celebration begun. 



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